1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a fishing hook in which a barb, which is generally provided, is not provided in a hook tip, a so-called barbless hook.
2. Description of the Related Art
In recent years, sport fishing has become popular, and a practice of so-called catch and release in which a caught fish is released to the place where it was caught has become common. To keep such a practice, care should be taken to avoid damage to a caught fish.
Barbless hooks have been invented for that purpose, which have been long used for fishing salmon or trout in the West. With the barbless hook, a caught fish can be released in a good condition without being damaged, and thus the barbless hook is an optimum fishing hook for keeping the practice.
However, in use of the barbless hook, inexperience may cause fishing failure because a barb, which is generally provided, is not provided in a hook tip. In order to avoid the failure, a fishing hook has been proposed in which a plurality of grooves in the form of a spiral, an X-shaped spiral, or a ring are formed in a shank near a hook tip (see, for example, Japanese Utility Model Registration No. 3026052).
This may avoid fishing failure, but the grooves are formed all around the shank, which may not be suitable for preventing damage to a caught fish.